Approval process for booting devices in Pre-Boot Execution Environment (PXE)

• US 20070198820A1
• Filed: 02/21/2006
• Published: 08/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Yaqoob, Asad, Syed, Saad, Dickens, Christopher
• Granted Patent: US 7,574,592 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4416 Network booting; Remote initial program loading [RIPL]

Abstract

Approving a client to boot in a pre-boot execution environment. A request is received from the client to boot the client by a computing device. The request includes device information associated with the client. A data store having a collection of known device information is queried in response to the received request. The request is stored, and it is determined whether to execute the received request by evaluating the device information in the stored request. The received request is responded to as a function of the evaluated device information.

Claims

1. A method implemented at least in part by a computing device for approving a client to boot in a pre-boot execution environment, said method comprising:

receiving from the client a request to boot the client by the computing device, said request including device information associated with the client;

querying a data store having a collection of known device information in response to the received request;

storing the request;

determining whether to execute the received request by evaluating the device information in the stored request; and

responding to the received request as a function of the evaluated device information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein storing comprises storing the request in a queue storing device information of unknown clients.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining comprises evaluating the request by an administrator, and wherein responding comprises responding in response to an input from the administrator.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein responding comprises:

approving the client by adding the device information to the data store and transmitting an image corresponding to the device information in the request received from the client, or

denying the request from the client.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein denying comprises denying the request after a pre-determined period of time.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein denying comprises denying the request in response to a cancellation request from the client.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein denying comprises denying the request in response to an input from the administrator.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more computer-readable media have computer-executable instructions for performing the method of claim 1.

9. A system for responding to a client to boot in a pre-boot environment, said system comprising:

a data store for storing a collection of known device information;

a processor executing computer-executable instructions, in response to the received request from the interface, for;

receiving from the client a request to boot the client, said request including device information associated with the client;

querying the data store;

storing the request;

determining whether to execute the received request by evaluating the device information in the stored request; and

responding to the received request as a function of the evaluated device information.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor stores the request in a queue storing device information of unknown clients.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to evaluate the request in response to an input from an administrator.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to perform one or more of the following operations:

approving the client and transmitting an image corresponding to the device information in the request received from the client, or

denying the request from the client.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the processor denies the request from the client based on one or more of the following:

after a pre-determined period of time, in response to an input from the administrator, or in response to a cancellation request from the client.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the processor approves the client by adding the device information to the data store.

15. One or more computer-readable media having one or more computer-executable components for approving a client to boot in a pre-boot environment, said computer-executable components comprising:

a message component for receiving from the client a request to boot the client, said request including information associated with the client;

a data storage component for storing a collection of known device information;

a memory component for querying the data storage component and storing the request in a collection of unknown client information;

an approval component for determining whether to approve the client by evaluating the information in the stored request; and

a service component for responding the received request as a function of the evaluated information.

16. The computer-readable media of claim 15, further comprising a boot component for delaying the service component for granting the received request when the request is stored by the memory component.

17. The computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the approval component evaluates the request in response to an input from an administrator.

18. The computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the approval component further comprising:

approving the client and transmitting an image corresponding to the information in the request received by the message component, and

denying the request from the client.

19. The computer-readable media of claim 18, wherein the service component is further configured to adding the evaluated information to the data storage component.

20. The computer-readable media of claim 18, wherein the approval component denies the request from the client based on one or more of the following:

after a pre-determined period of time, in response to an input from the administrator, and in response to a cancellation request from the client.